I have been writing for myself since the age of 14, i still remember, i wrote a poem called Topsy Tervy in order to express my sadness because i scored less marks in maths ( just 9 graders thing) so since then i have been writing for myself in the form of diary, poetry, essays, writing for an audience i actually started around the age of 20 when lockdown had hit , i made my first Wix website and i started blogging, in few days i got my first ever freelance writing gig and then i embarked on that journey.
So there are a few thing which i want to discuss here when it comes to comparing between writing for yourself and for an audience :
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Writing for yourself is liberating, while writing those poems and diaries in my teens i never thought that anyone would read it, the paper and pen felt like my friend.
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Writing for yourself is like putting your voices in the head to rest as now they are on the paper, taken a physical form, so i can read them, and no longer feel anxious about them.
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Writing for yourself is also like a constant judgement, where in my head a mini me is constantly judging that this is not good enough, who is going to read this, but the real me has an answer to this anxious conversation that, who cares, this is for me, i donot want anybody to read.
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Writing for yourself is a brain exercise, it is a very great knowledge exercise where i sit down and think about what all i want to rant about, what are my thoughts right now, let me channelise it, make a list and write it down.
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And lastly Writing for yourself is also a push to yourself on days when you simply donot want to do anything expect being a couch potato, on those days, when you put some effort and write, you get a dopamine hit, your mind mentally congratulating you saying that you did a great job.
On the Contrary, writing for an audience feels like :
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you need to be in the shoes of the target audience, think what you as a reader would like and write accordingly.
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writing for an audience feels like your talking to a potential stranger in your head, so you need to put your best foot forward, making sure you donot make a fool of yourself , at the same time you need to impress that stranger as well.
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Writing for an audience would also mean your chasing the game of views and SEO and analytics, although there is absolutely nothing wrong in doing that but it no doubt dampen some amount of your spirit.
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Writing for an audience also means that you need to keep you inner shakespeare and dickens quite, you need to be as relatable as you can be so that your word reaches to most of the people. And trust me, being a literature student, i have been through a fight in my mind.
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And last but not the least, writing for an audience is also a learning journey, where i get to know the people’s preferences, the trends and styles, writing no longer feels an impromptu task, it has to be planned well, researched well and delivered with a signature style, which i believe is a great learning curve for me.
My Verdict :
Although i love writing for an audience, i want more people to read my work but in the end what hits home for me are the benefits of writing for myself, the poems, diaries and essays which i write only for me to read.